


New Beginnings

by sapphrentice



Category: Nobody Knows - Fandom
Genre: Birthday, Canon, Feelings Mostly, Feels, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, My First Work in This Fandom, One Shot, Semi-Drabble, because i want more stories from this drama, because the ending is actually not an ending, non-canon, potential ships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:08:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23896579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphrentice/pseuds/sapphrentice
Summary: If it had been up to Cha Youngjin, it would just be another quiet day. The same kind of day that it had been for the last 19 years.
Relationships: Cha Young Jin & Chief Hwang In Beom, Cha Young Jin & Jung So Yeon, Cha Young Jin & Ko Eun Ho, Cha Young Jin & Lee Sun Woo, Cha Young Jin & Special Agency Crime Squad
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	New Beginnings

In hindsight, she had noticed all the signs but chose to ignore them. Thinking her team wouldn’t go so far as to actually orchestrate much less execute something — in fact, anything — for her; except Chief Han’s voice was shriller than usual over the phone, when he ordered her to get to the office immediately. By then she knew what they were up to, and her insides knotted at the thought of it.

If it had been up to Cha Youngjin, it would just be another quiet day. The same kind of day that it had been for the last 19 years.

A sharp bang threw her off her senses as soon as she entered the door. Strings of confetti streamed out a party cracker’s gaping end, flying towards her face before pooling at her feet. Youngjin wanted to shrink in place. Midway through the whole office singing ‘Happy Birthday!’, Jayoung and Jaehong approached with wide grins and a strawberry cake lit up with candles.

‘Were you surprised?’ Jayoung piped up later, after all the initial ruckus. She handed Youngjin a small blue gift bag before plopping back down on a desk chair. Across them, Jaehong shoveled another bite of cake into his mouth and looked up, expectantly. 

Youngjin hesitated. She’d seen the ribbons and the wrapping paper stashed in one of the parking lot recycling bins. Not to mention Chief Han loudly barking at two interns that morning to get party hats, which were a tad too much, truth be told. Detectives were, apparently, not too good at planning surprise parties.

Byunghee snickered and pulled off his party hat. ‘Of course, she isn’t surprised,’ he whined, ‘You guys were too obvious—‘

‘Hey!’ Jinsu interjected. ‘It’s not like we were the ones who were too lazy to throw the wrapping paper proper—‘

‘ _Tohtohtohtohtoh_! Tsk!’ Chief Han’s voice broke through the hubbub. ‘Cha Youngjin! Answer the question!’

‘I—‘

‘And before you say anything, you should know that I led the planning of this idea!’

‘You mean the party hats were your idea,’ Byunghee and Jinsu whispered among themselves.

‘Shut it!’

Youngjin watched in silence until the rest of them grew tired bickering. All the while, she couldn’t help the smile pulling on the corners of her lips. It was awkward, sure, but it was sweet. And thankfully, when it was finally over, they all turned their focus back to work.

***

To begin with, Eunho had already clued her in the day before.

‘You don’t have plans tomorrow night, do you?’

Youngjin turned away a bit from the orchids she was watering. ‘No, why?’

Eunho beamed. ‘Come over for dinner then.’

An uneasy surge of air rushed upwards from Youngjin’s chest and settled at the base of her throat. As if the last dinner wasn’t awkward enough. She choked out ultimately: ‘Erm—‘

‘You’ve always spent your birthday in your office. You never come home until the morning after,’ Eunho said.

‘You’ve never had a problem with that before.’

Youngjin broke into a slight smile. Last year, the two of them went on a hike outside the city and he said it was one of the best days of his life. It had been one of hers, too.

‘That doesn’t count though. That wasn’t on your birthday.’

The orchids seemed to soak up the colours of the setting sun, staining the grayish purple petals with fiery streaks of orange. The blooms were a cheerful addition to her mostly green balcony, but they would require a bit more attention than the other plants. She thought another second longer, then put away the watering can.

‘How about dinner out instead? We could pick your Mum up from the salon,’ she said. Behind her, Eunho rose excitedly to his feet. She turned towards him. ‘But it’ll be my treat, okay? Don’t bother your Mum anymore about it.’

***

Chief Hwang sat back on his chair with a knowing smirk, catching her whisper the name on the caller ID. He didn’t want to intrude. He didn’t have to. He nodded when she asked to be excused and stood up to place another order at the counter, or to allow her some privacy to take the call.

Youngjin bit her lower lip, stifling uncertainty, then pressed the phone to her ear.

‘Did you like it?’

Sunwoo’s voice sounded hopeful on the other end. Youngjin’s mind flitted to the pot of orchids sitting on a rack on the left side of her balcony, away from heavy wind and where the sun hits just right. She found Eunho placing it there, since she decided to head home early yesterday afternoon. 

Eunho handed her the gift right then. It seemed to be a journal or a book of some kind, wrapped in shiny silver paper. Eunho said it was from his homeroom teacher. She didn’t ask how his homeroom teacher found out about her birthday.

All it took was one look on Chief Hwang’s face when she told him about it. It was easy to fill in the rest of the story.

Youngjin let out a sheepish, soft exhale. ‘I’m sorry. I haven’t opened it yet.’

‘That’s okay. I hope you’d like it though. I didn’t know what to get you so I just got the next best thing I could find. I hope that’s alright. Eunho said you hate making a fuss over your birthday.’

‘He’s right.’

‘So does that mean I can’t take you out for dinner tonight?’

Again, she sensed anticipation hanging from his voice before he paused. He’s almost always been this way around her, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t find it at least endearing. Another time, she’d have said something else.

‘It’s just that I already have plans—‘

‘Ah...’ Sunwoo sounded deflated.

‘With Eunho and Eunho’s Mum,’ she added.

‘Oh!’ Sunwoo perked up. ‘That’s alright, I guess. Well, maybe some other time.’

For a moment, Youngjin wondered whom he thought she had plans with. Chief Hwang returned with a bottle of iced coffee and a small bag of pastries just as she ended the call. Unlike the previous years, he would be dropping by Dongmyung and Hansol’s house after his customary birthday lunch treat for her this year, instead of returning to his office.

Youngjin hadn’t realised she’d been staring until the older man finally said something.

‘He seems to be a genuine fellow, Lee Sunwoo seonsaengnim,’ he nodded at her, smiling.

‘Sir?’

Chief Hwang sat back in his chair. ‘I’m saying you could do worse than allow the man a chance, Youngjin.’

***

Dinner went smoothly enough. Conversation didn’t yet flow easily, but it was getting less stilted and Eunho was beaming happily the entire time between them. Now that they somehow regularly saw each other, Youngjin was becoming used to Soyeon’s directness, and Soyeon was getting less suspicious about her cautiousness.

Youngjin pulled up in front of the building.

‘Thanks for the orchids. They’re lovely.’

Soyeon smiled back at her. ‘I’m glad. Eunho said your plants were all just green.’ 

On the passenger seat behind them, Eunho stirred awake. ‘Are we here already?’

Soyeon helped her son out of the car. By the way Youngjin had parked the vehicle in front of the entrance, Soyeon figured she wasn’t about to go in yet but it was already quite late. ‘Are you still heading somewhere else?’

‘Yes,’ Youngjin said. ‘It’s alright. Go on ahead inside.’

‘Drive carefully,’ Eunho waved, and suddenly remembered to bow. ‘Thank you very much for dinner.’

Youngjin couldn’t help smiling back at him. They’ll do something tomorrow, just the two of them, the way they always do the day after her birthday. Maybe an afternoon hike, or maybe something else. She watched Eunho and Soyeon until they were inside the building before driving away.

***

Youngjin looked up at the sky. She and Soojung used to spend their birthdays like this. Towards dusk and then towards dawn, the two of them were born two shades of night apart. Only hours from each other.

_How will you get by without me?_   
_My life would probably be a lot quieter._

The night was always clearest every year that they shared it. Youngjin remembered, more than a handful of times, Soojung claimed she saw a shooting star leave a trail of dust in its wake. Tonight, she could have sworn, she saw one streak across the sky for the very first time.

‘Things are getting better now, Soojung.’

Youngjin shut her eyes and breathed deeply. Her mind took her back to her apartment, to the stash of unopened presents in her living room. She thought about all of the birthday greetings she received on her phone that morning and the lot of happy faces that made her feel thankful for another year bringing her another chance to live. She smiled, a sense of peace rising in her chest.

‘Everything is getting much better now.’

**Author's Note:**

> *so clearly i want more from this show.


End file.
